Wednesday, September 29, 2010

In 10 May 1926, swept by the Carnival fever, Cagayan held its own carnival. In fact, it was a joint, two-in-one carnival--one was for the province and the other for the capital town of Aparri. Very little is known about the organization of these provincial events, except that two queens reigned during that event.

The Aparri Carnival had Francisca Nepomuceno as Queen. The Carnaval de CagayanAdelena Espartero reign as Miss Cagayan 1926. Adelena did not go to Manila for the national competition as the Manila Carnival had already ended by then, nor did she go to the 1927 contest—Carmen Quinto went to that one. Like the Cagayan provincial carnivals, nothing much is known about her.

IS THAT WHO I THINK IT IS? Amelia Zialcita Romuadez, Miss Leyte 1927, bears a striking resemblance to her first cousin, Imelda Romualdez (Marcos) in her official Manila Carnival picture.

In 1927, the province of Leyte fielded a homegrown beauty to the Miss Philippines tilt. She was Amelia Romualdez, who bore a striking resemblance to a first cousin—Imelda Romualdez—who would go on to become the First Lady of the land as the wife of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. Imelda's father, Vicente Orestes, is the younger brother of Miguel Lopez Romualdez, Amelia's father, who was married to Brigida Zialcita of Manila.

Amelia's father had been a former Assemblyman of Leyte and a Mayor of Manila during World War II. The Lopezes were of Spanish descent; Amelia's paternal grandmother, Trinidad Lopez was a daughter of a Spanish friar, Fray Diego de Lopez of Granada, Spain who was assigned in Leyte. The Lopezes are credited with founding the town of Tolosa and enjoyed a reputation as a rich, influential and accomplished family.

Though a popular candidate, she did not place in the finals, with the crown going to TayabasinLuisa Marasigan, who represented Manila and who also reigned as Sultana ng Pasig. In later years, Amelia married Col. Maximiano Janairo and settled in Maryland, U.S.A.

MEET ME AT THE CARNIVAL!

Perhaps, no other event has piqued the interest and stirred a nation’s imagination more than the fabled Manila Carnivals. Held from 1908-1939, the 2-week fair was organized as a goodwill event to celebrate harmonious U.S.-Philippine relations and to showcase our commercial, industrial and agricultural progress. Spectacular parades, lavish shows, firework displays and the crowning of the Manila Carnival Queen highlighted the "greatest annual event in the Orient". This blog recalls the glorious Carnival era via pictorial mementos and discussions of its historied past. See you at the fair!